Vintage lithographed tin Halloween pan noisemaker, decorated in green, black, white and orange. The decorations include a witch, a ghost and a skeleton around a cauldron. The edges are decorated with jack o'lanterns, owls, bats and black cats. Marked "US Metal Toy Mfg. Co. Made In U.S.A." Very nice condition, some scratching where metal clappers hit against pan, very light rust on the unpainted clappers. Circa 1940s. 7-7/8" long.

Vintage American pulp Halloween jack o'lantern with the original paper face insert. Near mint condition. 5-1/2" tall (not including handle).

Vintage bisque Halloween black cat candy container. The bottom is marked "Made In Japan." Circa 1930. Condition: excellent.

Pretty vintage Halloween postcard showing a young couple, he dressed as a Pilgrim and she dressed as a Victorian lady, walking along a scary path through the woods. They have just startled a black cat while a pair of witches look on from the background. The card has nice colors. The two lower corners have some creasing, sharp edges. The back is postmarked 1910.

Extremely Rare Poupee (doll) from the Louis Vuitton Toy Shop. Made from a type of plastic (possibly celluloid) with delicate hand painted features, dressed in a detailed regional costume of Bretagne (Brittany). The costume appears to be of a style found in the area around Pont Aven. The face of the doll is of a mature woman not a child. The dolls wig appears to be of human hair and is in a pulled back style. The headdress is of stiffened lace, as is the wide collar of the dress. The dress itself...

Rare Chinese Neolithic Pottery Tripod with Oxford TL Test

This fine and interesting pottery vessel was made over 3,000 years ago during the Chinese Neolithic or early Bronze Age. The form is of a cooking vessel and the three wide udder-shaped legs allow it to be stood in a fire with as much heat as possible being transmitted to its contents. It is not always easy to determine exactly which culture such vessels come from as similar vessels were made by various Chinese cultures. However, we un...

Rare Chinese Sui Dynasty Glazed & Painted Pottery Horse & Rider (AD 581 - 618) (Ex. Roger Moss Collection)

This rare and finely-detailed model of a horse and rider was made during the Sui Dynasty. The horse stands upright with head straight ahead but slightly lowered. The dignitary sits upright upon the horse with his hands raised and wears elaborate robes and headgear. It is made from a relatively highly-fired buff-coloured pottery. It is coated in a finely-crackled straw-coloured glaze tha...

Offered is an extremely rare, C1920s, Federal agency building sign denoting offices for the Bureau For Colored Children. It is quite likely that this 100+ year old sign remains the only one in existence today.

Given that this sign is clearly segregating services for African-American children despite the fact that this was a federal agency, one can only hypothesize that this sign was placed on the exterior of a federal building in a state that endorsed and enforced segregation.

A quick hist...

"Best work ever in English on Chinese funerary figures. . " New Reference Book: Celestial Horses and Long Sleeve Dancers: The David W. Dewey Collection of Ancient Chinese Tomb Sculpture by Robert D. Jacobsen (English Edition).

Whereas many books on this subject will repeatedly describe and illustrate the same ancient Chinese pottery objects on display in public museums, this outstanding book contains fine photographs of items from a most impressive private collection: items not previousl...

Geese and Reeds Painting (Noando) on fine silk mounted on luxurious gold silk by Yang Ki Hun aka Seokyeon (1843-1897) from Pyeongyang, signed Seokyeon. Yang Ki Hun's signature 'boneless' style (painting without outlines, using ink washes) beautifully captures light and shade. The literal meaning of 'noando' is reed and geese painting, but it is a play on words, as 'no' means both reed and old, and 'an' means both geese and comfort ('do' means painting). So 'noan' can mean 'reed and geese' or 'ol...

Beautifully Framed Zen Buddhist Painting of a Pair of Cranes Flying Past the Moon by the Famous Korean Jeju Island Monk, Ko Chang Nyul aka Jung Kwang Sunim aka the Mad Monk (1935-2002). The third photo here is from a prominent dealer's "sale" going on right now on Jung Kwang paintings, where you will see the prices are several times higher than mine. This other gallery has been in business for over forty years and has sold to many of the major museums. A google search of Jung Kwang Mad Monk will...

A very rare piece of hand wrought sterling silver modernist jewelry by the San Francisco Metalsmith, Harry Dixon.

This unusual massive cuff bracelet has a large spinach green and yellow striated raised agate. Very three dimensional.

Measures 5 1/2" around with an opening of 1 1/8". Does not have much flexibilty. Measures 2 7/8" wide at the front. Weighs 105 gr.

Marked with a stamped Harry Dixon and Sterling.

Has some minor surface scratches and a little tarnish.

Excellent workmans...

A rare sterling silver modernist necklace by Phyllis Sklar, American Mid Century jeweler. This piece has a sterling wire overlay on a darkened, oxidized surface adorned with an oval moonstone cabochon, three small pearls, a green bezel set stone, (maybe jade) and dangles of pale green and dark red bezel set cabochons.

Measures 16 1/2" long with a 1 3/4" drop in the center. Has the stylized 'p' hallmark, phyllis and sterling on the back.

Interesting contrast between the oxidized and shiny s...

A fine, circa 1700-1730, English walnut writing chest strung with boxwood and crossbanded. The three-drawer superstructure has a fold flap above two short and two long drawers on a molded plinth and small compressed bun feet. In excellent antique condition, it measures 36ʺ wide × 18.25ʺ deep × 35ʺ high.

Cambridge Glass Company made Rose Point from 1936-53. There are no chips or cracks in the glass. Thanks for looking.

A pair of rare 19th C Chinese hand carved hardwood, possibly Hong Mu wood, Scholars desk trays in a large lily pad leaf design with flower heads. Each being slightly different, one has a bird’s head and the other a nice protruding stem between the flower heads, they were made to be displayed together. These were finished with a mix of beeswax and a few other natural concoctions the Chinese used to seal the finish and give it a great mellow sheen. The beauty of the surfaces is that wheneve...

Rare Large Chinese Neolithic Machang Phase Painted Pottery Jar

This unusually-shaped large pottery jar was made over 4,000 years ago during the Machang Phase (c.2300 - 2000 BC) of the Majiayao culture, also known as the Gansu-Yangshao culture, from present day Gansu or Qinghai province. It is relatively highly-fired and made from a pale yellowish-brown pottery. It has a fairly wide flat base, wide body and tall cylindrical neck. There is one loop handle joined at the shoulder and neck base, ...